By Jessica Waller
Photo by A. Wortz
On her newest album, “Bird by Bird,” southern star Suzanna Choffel’s warm melodies and songbird vocals shine like a north star lighting us home.
Once christened “the voice of Austin” by Grammy-winning producer (for Fiona Apple’s most recent album “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”) David Garza, Folk musician Suzanna Choffel has been playing in and around Austin since the age of fourteen. Which makes sense given that, in the spirit of all things ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ Choffel, a finalist on Season 3 of “The Voice,” was voted off the show for sounding too weird. Or, “eclectic” in industry speak. Choffel said, “I was definitely the wild card of the show, doing folk and reggae may have hurt me in the end, but it’s who I am.”
Choffel took the elimination in stride and returned home with what she agreed was the most valuable offering: praise from highly-revered music journalist (and lone street cred card-holder) Jessica Hopper, who said Choffel’s voice was “the only one I would listen to for a whole album.”
With so much cynicism crashing around the zeitgeist lately, my conversation with Choffel ended up feeling more like a therapy session than an interview. Choffel’s speaking voice and demeanor were nearly as soothing as the vocal stylings and instrumentals in her lilting compositions. In fact, the title of this new album comes from a therapeutic conversation she had with her step-daughter who was going through a dark time. Choffel told her to “just take it Bird by Bird,” a phrase coined by Anne Lemott in her 1994 book on writing. Choffel said, “I wrote that song (title track and catchy rumination on the power of familial love) to let her know I will always be there; And as a reminder to try and just break down these overwhelming moments into tiny reachable goals when it all seems too big.”
I always say the hardest song to write is a happy song. A good happy song anyways, not disco. Yet, Choffel has somehow steeped most of her lyrics in an upbeat glow of peace, gratitude and compassion. When asked how her music has evolved over the last couple decades of playing and releasing four albums at different stages in her life, Choffel said that this new record is her most mature, asking, “How can I help you feel how you want to feel? Instead of me just telling folks how I feel in my lyrics.”
Choffel said that having her two daughters had much to do with seeing the world, and her place in it, through a renewed lens of selflessness, responsibility, and hope. Although right now she is mainly focused on building a home, promoting the new record and her day job as a DJ at Sun Radio (a local Austin radio station), the call of teaching has been in her ear again, as upon graduation from music school, Choffel spent time teaching guitar and voice in Austin before moving to New York for three years to focus solely on her music.
Planting roots in Austin now, the prodigal daughter has returned to find new maternal superpowers in her family and art. This has led her to write more political songs like “Fast Asleep” on her new album, as well as several she said are currently in the works. “Fast Asleep” stares down the endless abyss of injustice in America regarding the case of Breonna Taylor, a young black woman mistakenly shot in her bed by police. A few years ago, Choffel became fixated on the Breonna Taylor trial and wrote “Fast Asleep” about the looking-glass tragedy of Taylor’s death. Against haunting piano and chamber music, Choffel’s guttural vocals pain-stakingly paint the night of Taylor —an EMT lifesaver who could have gone on to save many lives—being senselessly killed by those trusted to protect and serve.
“Although,” Choffel went on, “motherhood has also made me aware of how important it is to make time to stay true to myself” as a creator of art as well as babies. We discussed how critical it is for all women to find the time to create in a headspace that exists outside the role of mommy. Feminine agency, artistic liberation and freedom from roles of servitude inspired Choffel to pen perhaps the most catchy song, “My Words,” on the album. She describes being struck one day by the revelation that she had only written down words her babies were learning and speaking for years and suddenly knew she needed to get back to her own.
“Having the ability to focus mainly on singing and writing was another way this new album is different,” said Choffel. “I could really just have fun with the vocals without having to worry about all the melodies being my creation too this time.” Truly this album has some seriously talented musicians on it and given that it was recorded at Sonic Ranch by the brilliant David Garza, with musicians like Sebastian Steinberg and Adrian Quesada, the fact that it sounds like the perfect album to listen to while living your best life is not surprising. Influences from singers like Peggy Lee, Patty Griffin and Erykah Badu shine through with stark clarity on the most ear candy to be released this year for jazz-lovers with a penchant for sultry vocal-stylings.
“Bird by Bird” is a masterfully produced album that shows off the range of a unique artist working at the height of her talents. Choffel’s decades of classical training, solo experience, intoxicating voice and thoughtful lyrics are on full display in “Bird by Bird.” Although I must say the album is a bit polished for my personal taste as I miss the distinctive guitar-slapping, scrappy style from her early work. The first time I saw her was a solo gig at SXSW over 11 years ago when she performed “In the Hold of the Night.” The way she tore up the guitar neck with her bluesy finger-picking as a one woman band making the danciest music to ever grace a hollow body Gretch (her favorite) is simply something you do not see much anymore in a modern culture: an artist that writes, sings and plays an instrument with passionate fervor (Is it just me or is this becoming nearly extinct in modern music?). In this way, Choffel had earned her place as a serious musician working the local circuit long before becoming “the voice of Austin.”
Of all the musicians I’ve interviewed, Choffel is the only one who seemed to be deeply listening and sincerely asking me questions about myself. She even made sure to get the correct spelling of my band name right (which isn’t a real word, so I could tell she was paying attention). This sincere curiosity and soulful warmth is what sets Choffel apart as a human, but perhaps most importantly as an artist— with a new album that gives flight to the angels of our better nature.
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